ADD/ADHD Poll

[LaterBloomer]

After reading another forum member's post about graduate school, I couldn't help but wonder if s/he had ADD or ADHD. As an adult, I was diagnosed with ADD. Maybe that's why I find the CLEP/DSST exams better suited to my temperament than courses. (Drugs didn't help, darn it.) I'm trying to figure out how to ask if others are blessed/cursed with ADD/ADHD without getting into folks' personal business. Hmm? How do I do that poll thingy? Let's see if I can figure out before... oh, there goes a chicken.

[sanantone]

I chose "Think I've got it, but get too distracted to get it diagnosed." I did ask for a referral once but never got it. The physician's assistant told me I should get tested for sleep apnea first since he believes a lot of adults diagnosed with ADD/ADHD really just aren't getting enough sleep. I much prefer CLEP/DSST and I prefer the InstantCert flashcards over reading long books. I'm doing well in graduate school, but I do everything at the absolute last minute. I can only complete long assignments under pressure. Almost all of my mid-term and final papers have been written on the same day that they were due. I have a 4.0 average and I'm praying that I maintain it.

[ryoder]

Sanatone why would you put yourself under that pressure? I actually do assignments in my NCU classes prior to enrolling to avoid the terror that schedules can create in me. Most of the classes I take I finish in 4-5 weeks instead of the normal 8 weeks because I enter the class with at least 2 weeks of work already done. The exception was my business research methods course which required constant mentor feedback between assignments. I really don't like the format at USF, a brick and mortar school, because the online class I am taking won't let me work ahead. This creates anxiety as I now have deadlines I only have a few days to complete.

[LaterBloomer]

Ryoder, you DO NOT have it. Trust me. I couldn't get work done in advance if my hope of heaven depended on it.

Sanatone, sleep apnea sounds interesting as an explanation, and probably valid in many cases. Me, lucky devil, have both sleep apnea and ADD. If you can, get the study done. Sleep apnea affects lungs, heart, brain, and... I forget. Liver? Whatever, it's not just tiring for you and your (non)sleeping partner.

[nleamons]

While I do not have ADD or ADHD, I have several family members who have one or the other. However, do not forget about Aspergers.

[sanantone]

Sanatone why would you put yourself under that pressure? I actually do assignments in my NCU classes prior to enrolling to avoid the terror that schedules can create in me. Most of the classes I take I finish in 4-5 weeks instead of the normal 8 weeks because I enter the class with at least 2 weeks of work already done. The exception was my business research methods course which required constant mentor feedback between assignments. I really don't like the format at USF, a brick and mortar school, because the online class I am taking won't let me work ahead. This creates anxiety as I now have deadlines I only have a few days to complete.

Interestingly enough, I can do small assignments ahead of time and prefer that option, but the current program I'm in won't release discussion questions until the week they're due. They don't want students working ahead. For large projects or papers, I just cannot start them early. Many times I will write two 12-15 page term papers on the same day because I take two courses at a time. Oddly, I tend to get my highest grades when I do my papers at the last minute. When I first started the program, I had the concentration to start some papers early and those got Bs while most of my other papers have gotten As.

Ryoder, you DO NOT have it. Trust me. I couldn't get work done in advance if my hope of heaven depended on it.

Sanatone, sleep apnea sounds interesting as an explanation, and probably valid in many cases. Me, lucky devil, have both sleep apnea and ADD. If you can, get the study done. Sleep apnea affects lungs, heart, brain, and... I forget. Liver? Whatever, it's not just tiring for you and your (non)sleeping partner.

Now that I will be getting decent health insurance at my new job, I'll try to make the effort to go back for a referral. A diagnosis for sleep apnea would be important, but with ADD, not so much. I have no interest in taking any of the ADD medications.

[af2012]

Interestingly enough, I can do small assignments ahead of time and prefer that option, but the current program I'm in won't release discussion questions until the week they're due. They don't want students working ahead. For large projects or papers, I just cannot start them early. Many times I will write two 12-15 page term papers on the same day because I take two courses at a time. Oddly, I tend to get my highest grades when I do my papers at the last minute. When I first started the program, I had the concentration to start some papers early and those got Bs while most of my other papers have gotten As.

Now that I will be getting decent health insurance at my new job, I'll try to make the effort to go back for a referral. A diagnosis for sleep apnea would be important, but with ADD, not so much. I have no interest in taking any of the ADD medications.

I am the same way. I've always worked under the last minute mentality. It's not that I can't do the work early, I just can't get focused enough unless I have a deadline that is immovable and immediately in front of my face. Oddly enough I don't get panicked about starting a long paper the day before it's due, and every paper I've done this way I have also gotten an A on. Go figure. I don't do multiple revisions either, I go back over what I've written once and then let it fly. But that's just me.

For the record, I have one child diagnosed with autism, another with Asperger's and I definitely see the Asperger's tendancies in myself as well.

Amy

[LaterBloomer]

Drugs aren't always an option (didn't work for me). The sleep apnea diagnosis, though, is serious. If you find out that you have it, you might have issues with masks, etc. Keep working around until you find something that works. You'll be glad that you did.

Amy, I wonder if ADD and OCD have some relationto Aspergers or autism. Don't they all, to some extent, have to do with the ability/inablity to focus? Aren't people with Aspergers or autism hyper-focused? I'm ashamed to admit that I don't know as much about either as I should.

[sanantone]

Now, the medical community is just using ADHD and have dropped the use of ADD. You're either ADHD inattentive, hyperactive, or both. I think I have that right, lol. I've heard of people with ADHD being able to hyperfocus which I think is a trait found in those with Asperger's and autism. I don't know about the links between ADHD and autism/Asperger's or OCD, but I know it's linked to bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Those with ADHD are much more likely to have a family member with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. They, themselves, are also at a higher risk of developing these mental illnesses. Taking ADHD drugs, stimulant or non-stimulant (Strattera), also increase the chances of developing these disorders.

[OtherSyde]

Did anyone ever figure out if Asperger's is a real syndrome, or just OCD combined with really bad social skills? I don't like to tell anyone I have it because everyone's like, "Haha, you have that stupid made-up Ass-Burgers syndrome! It's not even real, you're just a socially inept idiot."

I take Wellbutrin 300mg (the time-release one), and drink at least one energy drink a day to stay focused, otherwise I have absolutely no hope of getting anything done or studying, I just wander around in a foggy haze and lose track of things after a few minutes. These two remedies keep me fairly sharp and productive though.